If I wanted to get a true 14.4 volts which most amps are rated, do I need to get a bigger alternator? The stock puts out less than 13 volts and closer to 12 volts when AC is on, headlights, and is running idle. I do plan on beefing up the wires to the alternator from the battery and upgrade the ground wires under the hood in the meantime do to the dimming of headlights when the bass hits. Lastly, I am wondering if I should run my DVC subs so that my amp is seeing 2ohms instead of 1 ohm so my electrical system isn't taxed. The amps are class A amps (very nice sounding, but very inefficient). I would have to switch the amp to high power instead of high current and would lose 100 watts per sub though. It's continuous power at 1 or 1/2 ohm is 600 watts and in high power is 400 watts RMS. I would just hate to lose that much power, but at the same time don't know how good for my car it is. By the way I do have a cap<you can see set up below by clicking "www" to see set up>.

MiStErT

 

well i dont know if this will help or not but heres my setup, i've got 2 600 watt kenwood amps and a 450 watt kenwood 4 channel amp, i've got neon under the seat, in the trunk, after market guage faces, off road fog lights, clarion tv, Playstation, dvd player a-pillar with guages and 2 1 farad caps on a regular automotive battery. when the bass is up when the car is at idle i was fluctuating between 12-13 volts. the ligts were dimming a bit not bad but noticable. i bought some 4 guage wire and grounded off the batter and other ground connections in the engine bay, basically a home made hyper ground kit. the neons i found a good ground source for and the accessories i had were hooked up to one ground source so i tried grounding it in a better location. Now at idle with the bass up volts are between about 13-13.5. when the car is at highway speed, im at a good 14 volts, when the AC is on and the headlights on and everything i'm at about 12.5-13v constant. i am thinking that upgrading the wire to the alternator and to an optima batter will help somewhat, but to get a constant 14.4v at idle with bass high and lights and AC you might want a different alternator, but running another battery or even another cap could help out. sorry for the long winded story even though it probably didnt help

 

I am getting all the stuff needed to do a ground kit probably towards the end of the week. I am going to try all of this and see if it helps with the dimming problem. It's hard to say if my 1.5 farad cap is bad or not. Whether hooked or not hooked up, it just doesn't seem to make a difference (or atleast, not much of a difference). I need to go to a store like Radio Shack or an auto part start and get a voltage meter. I have heard of also replacing the gauge wire to the alternator, but it's hard to get to in a 2 liter engine. You have to get to it from underneath the car. You wouldn't happen to know how to do all of that would you? You can check out my set up by clicking the www icon below. You'll see I am using 4 gauge wires, class a amps (which are very inefficient), and a stiffening cap. Maybe my cap crapped out, but if that was the case, I am told the dimming would be worse with it installed than uninstalled. I guess we will see.

MiStErT

 

you should definately try replacing your ground wires, what i also did was, i replaced the wire that goes from the battery to the fuse box with a 4 guage wire, that should make a slight difference also. As for replacing the alternator wire i havent even looked at it so i dont know. if i do i'll let you know

 

I was told that replacing the wire to the fuse box doesn't really do much for you. I see the theory of the alternator. After all, you are using 4 gauge wire to your amps and the factory has about 8 gauge to the alternator. The same goes with the ground.

MiStErT

 

I am definitely interested! What color are they? <just curious> I am thinking of dressing the engine with blue along with the calipers and still want to do the grill inserts like yours, but have those chrome. I may do euros in the back, but it would be between the euro clears with red bulbs or the solid red with the bright red bulbs inside (they are at SoundDomain I believe). I can't believe that they are only $75!!! That is cheap!

MiStErT

 

Yeah, Pep Boys sells a blue color that looks like the blue on the older MP3. Looks sharp with the black. In fact the new ground kit I ordered, has the exact blue coloring. I ordered them thinking they were a solid blue wire, but they are actually see through. They are darker than the Lightning Audio power wires, so they look good. Also got terminal rings with the blue wraps on them. What is a good paint to use on interior parts? I am thinking around the door handles, window controls, and instrument cluster as well as the plastic piece around the AC vents. I want it to look good, but not go overboard. Is that a good idea to paint with all of the heat and humidity here in Charleston?

MiStErT

P.S. What is the scoop on your alternator? Any luck yet?

 

Won't the paint chip or rub off eventually. At work we use paint for walkers and such and you carry one up to the floor and you have pieces of paint stuck to your hand. They even sand, spray primer, then spray ugly neon paint (so no one will take it) on it. It lasts a while, but then starts chipping. Also, how does it hold up if you get the Armor All stuff on it from cleaning the rest of the dash?


MiStErT

 

knowing me, I would **** it up! That is good to know.

MisterT